School choice refers to the educational alternatives available to parents who do not wish to send their children to the local district public schools to which they are assigned. Public school choice options include open enrollment policies, magnet schools and charter schools. Other options include traditional school vouchers, scholarship tax credits, personal tax credits and deductions and Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), which allow parents to receive public funds directly for educational expenses.[1][2]

School choice options in Maryland include: charter schools and supplemental online learning programs. In addition, about 14.17 percent of school age children in the state attended private schools in the 2011-12 academic year, and an estimated 2.67 percent were homeschooled in 2012-13.

Charter school authorizers are, according to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), the organizations "designated to approve, monitor, renew, and, if necessary, close charter schools." As of June 2014, the organizations in the following table were listed by NACSA as charter school authorizers in Maryland:[5]

Magnet schools

Magnet schools, sometimes called theme-based schools, are public schools of choice that use a specialized subject area or innovative learning approach to attract students from more diverse backgrounds. In fact, magnet schools began as a way to desegregate public schools through choice rather than force. Magnet schools can reach beyond the barriers of school districts, but they are still managed and funded publicly by local districts, even though they are centered around specialized themes and subjects.[6][7]

In the 2011-2012 school year, there were 2,949 magnet schools in the United States. In that year, Maryland had 91 magnet schools that served 80,197 students. Approximately 73 percent of students enrolled in Maryland magnet schools were classified as a minority. That percentage of students was predominately African American. This was higher than Maryland's average of 57 percent minority enrollment. The state also reported an average student:teacher ratio of 15:1 in magnet schools, which is higher than the state average of 14:1 in traditional public schools. The table below lists this information again and compares it to Maryland's neighboring states.[8][9]

School vouchers and tax credits

Online learning

According to Keeping Pace with K-12 Online and Blended Learning, there are no fully virtual schools in Maryland. The Maryland Virtual School, the state-led online learning program, provides supplemental online courses for high school credit and High School Assessment courses and resources. State law prohibits online charter schools.[11]

Private schools

In the 2011-12 school year, 121,063 students, or 14.17 percent of school age children, were enrolled in 668 private schools. Maryland ranks seventh highest in the nation in private school attendance.[12]

Public school open enrollment

According to the Education Commission of the States, Maryland has no open enrollment policies.[13]

Homeschooling

In Maryland in 2012-2013 an estimated 26,104 students, or 2.67 percent of the total student-aged population, were homeschooled.[14]

A summary of the state's laws relating to homeschooling can be accessed here.